JDNews reports: In the wake of a high-profile hazing investigation involving a Marine suicide (in Afghanistan), a Camp Lejeune Marine is claiming he was falsely accused of a similar offense by a handful of junior troops. Here is a link to a CAAFLog post about the suicide of Lew. In a previous post on Lew:
A military hearing over whether three Hawaii-based Marines should go to trial for alleged hazing of a squad member who later killed himself in Afghanistan concluded Friday and a commander will now make a final determination. Looks like some interesting litigation.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents didn’t read the Marines their rights when they took statements from the men about Lew’s death. The attorneys told Gardner they would object to the use of the statements in a court martial as a result. NCIS agents told the hearing they didn’t read the Marines their rights because at the time the men were witnesses and not suspects.
Unfortunately the prior newspaper links to the L/Cpl Lew incident are “dead,” likely because the papers have archived the story. Here is a link to a story in the AP, and here is Reuters. Of course we are all familiar with the attention paid to suicides within the military. And here for some additional context is a link to CAAFLog on United States v. Caldwell. Caldwell is the case of a Marine convicted of intentional self-injury
kcentv.com has further reporting on United States v. Stovall, ongoing at Fort Hood.
SGT David A. Salas was so worried about his soldier’s mental state that he approached his first sergeant a dozen times. Nothing was ever done. (Salas said) [H]e took steps to help. He took Stovall to Fort Hood’s Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program where he met with a clinical psychologist, Dr. Jerry Wesch.
And in a comment I think we’ve heard in other cases, “ [The] military judge, asked Salas why no action was ever taken against Stovall [for what appear to be a history of bad behavior]. It was "all about numbers," he said. He believed leaders were trying to get as many people to go to Iraq as possible, he testified.
Aside from his odd behavior, he was late 50 percent of the time, his uniform was always out of sorts and his temper was out of control. In Salas’ four years as a noncommissioned officer, he never saw a soldier in as much trouble as Stovall, he said.
NewsOK reports that: All military personnel stationed in Oklahoma, Arkansas and northern Texas have been barred from visiting smoke shops in Oklahoma City by a directive issued by the commander of Fort Sill.